Lance's return boosts Livestrong fundraising
Seven-time Tour de France champion US cycling star Lance Armstrong launches the three-day Global Cancer Summit organised by Lance Armstrong's Livestrong Foundation at the RDS. Photo: Getty Images
Related Articles
Lance Armstrong said at a conference in Dublin today that his return to cycling has helped his Livestrong cancer foundation maintain its funding at close to 2008 levels, even as the global recession hurts other charities.
“If you looked at other nonprofits in the US, it’s well known that most of them will be down 40pc to 50pc this year,” Armstrong said.
“I don’t know exactly where we are relative to 2008, but I suspect it’s right about even.”
Armstrong finished third in this year’s Tour de France when he returned after a four-year absence.
Two months short of his 38th birthday, the record seven-time winner of the event was the second-oldest rider ever to make the podium.
“We didn’t know we were going to suffer this recession,” Armstrong said of his Texas-based foundation’s campaign.
“We didn’t strategize, ‘Gee, Lance, maybe you should come back so we can be buffered from this recession,’ but I guess in a lot of ways it helped.”
Armstrong, who survived testicular cancer and previously said he returned to cycling to raise awareness of the disease, is quitting the Astana team to switch to a start-up organization sponsored by RadioShack Corp. next season.
RadioShack, based in Armstrong’s native Texas, will also sponsor the Livestrong Challenge Series fundraising event.
Armstrong’s impact
“I don’t know we’ve ever had an opportunity and a platform like Lance has provided through his return to cycling, to raise awareness of an issue that impacts everyone,” Livestrong Chief Executive Officer Doug Ulman said. “It’s hard to estimate exactly the impact.”
A report published today by the foundation said that the economic burden of new cancer cases will be about €212bn globally this year.
There is a €151bn expenditure gap, an estimate based on medical costs in the countries with the lowest cancer fatality rates, according to the report.
“This is not spending; it’s investing in the health and wellness of our communities,” Armstrong said.
“This is an investment we should make. This is an investment we must make.”
(Bloomberg)
- Fergal O’Brien
